


The Games We Play

by irlwhizzerbrown, whizzerdbrown



Category: Falsettos - Lapine/Finn
Genre: College AU, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, M/M, Modern AU, Pep Band AU, Pining, Rival Schools - Freeform, Rivals, Slow Burn, cordelia and whizzer are ultimate mlm & wlw friends, gotta get the Drama™, it isn't really talked about much in the middle but, lots of AUs, marvin and trina were middle school sweethearts, mendel is bi, shrugs, some angst later on, the pep band part is more important towards the beginning and then is reinforced at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-30
Updated: 2018-01-15
Packaged: 2019-02-08 15:04:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 16,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12867078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irlwhizzerbrown/pseuds/irlwhizzerbrown, https://archiveofourown.org/users/whizzerdbrown/pseuds/whizzerdbrown
Summary: { original ; posted 11/30/17, finished 12/14/17 }Applebaum Community College and Pharaoh Tech have never got along. All of the kids in each school have been raised told by their parents to never go to the other school, each for their different reasons. When the football season starts up again, so does the same old pep and rivalry.alternatively;the pep band au which nobody asked for





	1. a good year.

The hot, midday August sun beat down on college students and family members alike as everyone prepared for the long-awaited first football game of the year. First games were always intense – but, then again, the students at Applebaum Community College, usually shortened to ACC, always managed to make things intense. 

The surprisingly small pep band all sat together, a mix of many different instruments all in some section that didn't seem like it would fit. To most surveyors, they looked disorganized at best, but that was until they actually _heard_ the band. They were good, they were prepared, they were loud, and they were ready to show school spirit. 

More specifically, though, together sat Whizzer Brown, Mendel Weisenbachfeld, and Cordelia Abrams. Whizzer and Cordelia ha been friends since middle school, and we're the epitome of gay-lesbian friendship culture. The two of them met Mendel through a class in their sophomore year of high school, when Mendel first moved, and were inseparable since. The three were all decked out in their school’s colors of red and white, instruments and music all set up and ready to go, mid-conversation. 

“I can't believe that we’re playing Pharaoh Tech for the first game of the season,” Mendel was saying, fiddling with the keys on his flute. 

Cordelia smiled around her clarinet reed. “I think it’s exciting!”

 _“I_ think,” Whizzer announced, his eyes locked on his shiny trombone, which he was polishing for the third time in the past half hour, “that they’re a great choice for our first game. We’ll beat them, like we always do, and all the other teams that we’ll end up facing will be nervous to face us. Like they should be.”

“We lost the last game to them last year,” Mendel pointed out rather helpfully, his gaze going from his instrument, to Cordelia, and then to Whizzer. “And also, last year, you always complained about playing them.”

“New year, new me.”

Cordelia giggled at that.

“Anyway, it’ll be fine,” Whizzer continued after grinning at the blonde girl to his left side. He turned his attention to Mendel, then, who sat to Whizzer’s right. “We’ll win, I know we will.”

“Are you dating another football player?” Cordelia questioned. 

“I’m sure we would have already heard about it if he was,” Mendel mumbled. 

Whizzer shook his head. His attention, easily shifted, was now locked on their rival school’s pep band just across the field. “No, no. None of that. I just feel that this year is going to be our lucky year.”

Speaking of the rival team across the field...

Pharaoh Tech College had a much bigger band. They were just a bigger school in general – those who went there were generally from richer, upper class families. Families that had their things put together, families who generally had only one child and that child got spoiled rotten. They were known to be quite snots, really, but that wasn't the case for all of them. 

Marvin Feynman, Trina Bell, and Charlotte DuBois sat together, doing nearly the same thing as their counterparts. The only difference in their color scheme, too, was that their accent color was gold rather than white. Marvin and Trina were middle school sweethearts, but broke it up shortly before high school started. Marvin came out as gay a year later. Trina and Charlotte were roommates since freshman year, and Marvin stuck around with them because he couldn't be bothered to make friends with anyone else. 

“Their team is good,” Charlotte had said, her saxophone laying in her lap. “Think we’ll beat them?”

“Obviously. We did last year.” Marvin stated, his trumpet lying at his side on the bleachers. He couldn't play the darned thing very well, but it didn't matter because there were enough trumpets to cover up his instrument’s wailing and cries for help. 

Trina shook her head at him, “We’ve also lost all of our seniors. _They_ were what made our team good.” Her flute was held delicately in her lap, perfectly straight, and she kept impeccable posture even though nobody was paying much attention just yet. 

Marvin rolled his eyes. “So? _They_ lost all of _their_ seniors, too. As long as their freshmen aren't great, which they usually aren't, we’ll be fine.”

“Cocky as usual,” Charlotte sighed, clearly just trying to get a rise out of the male wedged between the two girls. 

Trina chuckled, sending a gaze the other girl’s way. “When isn't he?”

“It's a wonder he’s still single.”

“Okay, enough,” Marvin grumbled. 

He didn't really have to say that, though, because the voice over the loudspeaker finally began, signaling the start of the game. The three of them watched as the football players from ACC came running out, then their attention shifting to the teeny tiny band as they started to play the school’s song. Their sound sure wasn't ‘teeny tiny,’ though. 

Soon enough, Pharaoh Tech’s own team went running out, and they played their own school song. 

This was going to be a good year indeed.


	2. the park on water road

The game had ended with Pharaoh Tech winning by a single point, which Whizzer definitely referred to as a foul even though they all knew that it wasn't. In fact, that's what they were talking about as they left the stands, when they just so happened to run into members of the other school. 

“You’re just jealous that we’re better than you,” a voice piped up, heatedly, just as ready to fight as Whizzer was. 

Whizzer swirled around, glaring at the man in question. “It's not considered jealousy when your team _cheated._ ”

“Oh, god,” Mendel mumbled to himself before attempting to hold his friend back. “Whizzer, please, they didn't _cheat–”_

The other guy laughed. “ _Whizzer?_ What kind of a name is _Whizzer?”_

Whizzer yanked his arm from Mendel’s grasp, ignoring Cordelia’s attempt to grab his other arm, and stepped up closer to the other guy.

He was clearly older but not by too much, maybe a few years, but Whizzer was taller and practically loomed over him. He wasn’t scared, though. Whizzer was more of a pretty boy than anything.

 

Marvin glared up at the guy - _Whizzer._ “Who do you think you are?” He continued. “We didn’t cheat, we don’t cheat. You’re just sore losers.” And then Marvin raised his hand, to push Whizzer away from him–

“Alright, no, let’s not fight.” Charlotte was suddenly between them, holding Mavin by the wrist. “Come _on,_ you two, how old are we? This wouldn’t even be acceptable between _high schoolers.”_

Marvin tried to pull his wrist away, but Charlotte’s grip was tight. Not tight enough to hurt, but tight enough that Marvin wouldn’t be able to pull away no matter how hard he tried.

The look on Whizzer’s face was comical. He was surprised, then confused, then kind of angry, and Marvin had to bite back a smirk. Whizzer looked like he wanted to throw a witty insult to Charlotte, but like he was kind of afraid to.

“You want to fight?” Marvin spoke up, then, not taking his eyes off of the taller male. He ignored Trina’s disapproving gaze. Charlotte tried to butt in with a, _“no,”_ but Marvin spoke over her.

“Meet me at the park on Water Road. Three A.M.”

“I’ll see you there,” Whizzer replied, his voice now this odd, scary-calm type of tone. Marvin almost felt threatened. Almost. 

“We need to go now, bye,” the other male said quickly, the one that had accidentally told Marvin what Whizzer’s name was. This guy was shorter, and seemed really anxious to get out of there. He grabbed the hand of their third member, a cute blonde girl, then dragged Whizzer off by his wrist, only looking back to send a short glance Trina’s way. Trina didn’t notice. 

“What the hell, Mavin,” Charlotte groaned, turning to him. “Why do I always have to play mom? And why do you _always_ have to get around that?”

Marvin huffed, trying to pull with wrist away again. Charlotte let him this time, since Whizzer was far enough away. “He started it–”

“Oh my god.” Trina sighed, running her hands over her face. “You’re such a _child._ If he beats you up, I’m not coming to get you.”

“If he beats you up,” Charlotte added on, “I’m not patching up your injuries like last time. You started this one.”

“He won’t beat me up. Did you _look_ at him? What a twink.”

**_The Park on Water Road, Two Fifty-Five A.M._**

Whizzer was already there when Marvin walked up. Marvin was still wearing his clothes from the game, his school’s hoodie and a pair of jeans, the only thing different being the lack of face paint and he wasn’t carrying his trumpet. Whizzer, however, was dressed completely different. A red button up, dark skinny jeans, and - were those _heeled_ boots? 

“I’m fighting you, not taking you on a date.”

Whizzer looked up from where he was observing his painted nails, a grin sliding over his face, now. “Yeah, you just _wish_ you were taking me on a date.” When Marvin only glared at him, Whizzer added on, “I know, I’m cute.”

And that was all it took. They were here to fight, Whizzer was _already_ running his mouth, so Marvin fought. He threw a punch, hitting the side of Whizzer’s face head on. Whizzer seemed stunned, so Marvin went in for another punch, but his fist got blocked and, to Marvin’s surprise, Whizzer went in with a fist too.

They fought, and fought, and fought. Whizzer’s boots ended up pulled off by Marvin, who attempted to use them to hit into Whizzer’s side, but they ended up thrown across the park and into the little playground area that was left for local kids. By the end of it, it was nearly four in the morning, and both boys were bloodied and tired, but still going. They only stopped because of Charlotte, and the blonde girl that seemed to be Whizzer’s friend.

Charlotte yanked Marvin off Whizzer, and, to her surprise, the blonde came to the rescue and grabbed Whizzer before he could pounce on Marvin again. The blonde gave Charlotte a surprisingly cheerful smile, and Marvin swore he saw Charlotte’s hardened exterior light up for just a second. 

“Cordelia?” Whizzer groaned as he was contained, turning to look at the girl. “What the hell?” 

“I didn’t know if anyone would come stop you,” she answered, glanced at Charlotte again, and then looked back at Whizzer, “and, I thought, if they did, they could use some help. You’re stubborn.”

“One and the same,” Charlotte finally spoke up, almost smiling at the other girl. 

Marvin and Whizzer were nowhere near as amused as the girls. 

“Do you want me to check his injuries? I’m majoring with a doctoral degree.”

 _“Charlotte,”_ Marvin tried.

Cordelia, as Whizzer referred to her, shook her head, “No, no, he’s fine. But thank you for asking!” Whizzer stared at her, his already bruising eye saying otherwise, but she ignored him. “See you around, sorry for the trouble!”

And Cordelia dragged him off.

Charlotte watched them leave, before doing the same to Marvin, only with a lot more lecturing.


	3. lesbianism (and a straight)

“How did it go?” Trina questioned when Charlotte got back to their room. It was seven now, because Charlotte had gone ahead and patched up Marvin’s injuries against her empty threat from before. 

“I might have met the love of my life,” Charlotte admitted, dropping down onto her bed. 

Trina gave her a look. _“Whizzer?”_

“God, no. I don't like men, you know that. His friend, the girl. He called her Cordelia.”

“The blonde?”

Charlotte nodded. 

Trina watched the other girl, who was now laying back and staring at the ceiling. Charlotte always said that she was going to wait until after college to date. She always said that she wasn't interested in any of the girls at their school (“no offense, Trina”), and that she wanted to keep her focus on her schoolwork and exams, anyway. And here she was, practically lovestruck. 

“What happened to your grand plan?” Trina asked, playfully. 

Charlotte heaved a sigh. “It doesn't matter. We’re in rival schools, I probably won't see her again except for at football games.”

“Unless,” Trina added, “Marvin and that Whizzer guy pick more fights. And I’m sure they will.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m sure they will.”

Trina knew that Charlotte would see Cordelia again. And she knew that Charlotte knew that too. 

—

Cordelia had followed Whizzer to his dorm room, insisting that she needed to help him get cleaned up after the fight. 

“It looked bad, Whizzer, and your eye looks bad, and I’m _sure_ that you have more injuries just hidden under your clothes that should be looked at,” she whispered, trying to stay quiet because Mendel would be sleeping. 

“I’m _fine,_ Cordelia,” Whizzer half-whispered back, pulling an ice pack from the freezer and holding it up to his eye, wincing slightly. 

Cordelia sighed, sitting on the counter and watching Whizzer. They were silent for a moment, before Cordelia spoke up again. 

“Did you know her?”

“Who? The doctoral girl?”

Cordelia nodded, swinging her legs childishly. 

Whizzer grinned. “Why? Do you like her?”

“What?” Cordelia went red. “I don't _know_ her, Whizz. I just– know that she's _pretty,_ and that she seems _cool,_ and–”

“You like her.”

“Who likes who?” came Mendel’s tired voice, as he stepped into the small kitchen area with a yawn. And then he paused when he got a look at Whizzer’s face. “Why did you actually fight him, Whizzer?”

“Cordelia likes some doctor girl on the _other team,_ and I fought him because I had to.”

Mendel gave him a look, then turned to look at Cordelia. “A girl from Pharoah Tech?”

Cordelia pouted, “It’s not fair to say that I like her like that. I don't know her!”

“I think,” Mendel proposed, lowering Whizzer’s hand to get a look at his bruised eye, “that we should just leave them alone. No more fights.”

“I think,” Whizzer stated, mocking Mendel, “that you're just saying that because _you_ had the hots for the _other_ girl.”

It was Mendel’s turn to go red. “I do _not,_ Whizzer Brown, I don’t know her, I don't know her name, I don't know what she’s like–”

“Yeah, but you’d like to.”

Cordelia’s giggling was the only thing that stopped Mendel from saying anything else. 

—

Weeks went by, and things were just fine. Whizzer and Marvin never saw each other again, but that also lead to Charlotte and Cordelia not seeing each other again. Marvin wasn't at all bothered by this. Charlotte wouldn't admit that she was, but Trina knew better. That's why, when they found out that they were supposed to be playing Applebaum Community College again in just a few days, there were mixed reactions. 

Overall, it was mostly excitement. Charlotte wanted to see Cordelia again. Maybe even talk to her before or after the game, at least become her friend. Marvin, surprisingly, was looking forward to seeing Whizzer, too. To see if the fight had any impact, to see if Whizzer would run his mouth again, to see if Whizzer would offer a location to fight this time. Trina, really, didn't care either way. She didn't really want to deal with Marvin and Whizzer again, but she hoped that Charlotte and Cordelia would get to talk. 

Only time would tell how the actual game and interactions would go, and Trina could only cross her fingers and pray that it would be fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow look at me shooting out chapters,, no promises that the upload schedule will always be this great


	4. lesbianism part two

“Where’s Charlotte?” Marvin questioned, glancing around the dorm as he closed the door behind himself.

Trina looked away from her mirror, where she was applying the red and gold streaks across her cheeks. “She finished early and went out. Said she’d save us seats.”

Marvin raised an eyebrow, but Trina didn’t see. Her attention was back at the mirror. “We don’t even have to be there for twenty minutes.”

She shrugged, tossing the face paint containers to Marvin. “She’s an adult, Marv, I’m not going to tell her what she can and can’t do.”

In reality, Trina knew what Charlotte was doing, because they had talked about it before she left. Charlotte was going to go early so that she could try to catch Cordelia as ACC was filling the ‘guest’ side of the bleachers. Trina hoped that it would turn out well. Maybe they could exchange phone numbers, or plan to hang out sometime after the game when neither of them were busy. Charlotte never seemed all that interested in _anyone,_ so it would be nice if this went well for her. Poor Charlotte always seemed so stressed, only paying attention to her exams and workload. It would be nice for her to have fun for once. 

Trina turned to look at Marvin after she successfully put her hair up in a pristine ponytail. Marvin had put the same colored streaks on his own cheeks, though they weren’t as immaculately lined up as Trina’s were. 

“Please don’t pick a fight this time,” she warned, sitting down on the edge of her bed. “I swear, Marvin.”

Marvin shrugged, sitting on the chair at Trina’s desk. “I can’t promise anything. If _he_ starts something, I’ll finish it.”

“It didn’t really look like you finished it last time,” Trina snapped, narrowing her eyes. Obviously, she was referencing to the scrapes and bruises that he’d received from the last fight.

“I didn’t get to finish it because Charlotte and that guy’s friend stopped us.”

“You shouldn’t have even started it.”

_“I_ didn't. Whizzer–”

“Whatever, Marvin, _I_ don’t want to fight. Just, please. Don’t start anything. And if _he_ starts something, then be the bigger man and ignore it.”

Marvin huffed, but he didn’t give a response. Trina knew that he wasn’t going to do any of that. 

—

“Cordelia!”

The whole group paused upon hearing only one of their names. Whizzer grinned when he saw who the voice belonged to, watching as Cordelia’s face practically lit up. 

The blonde in question dropped the conversation that she had been in the middle of with Whizzer and Mendel, immediately backtracking to approach Charlotte.

“Hi!” Cordelia greeted. “Good luck tonight! We were really close last game.”

Charlotte was surprised by this, at first, before a smile graced her own face as well. “Yeah, you too.”

“Think I can keep Whizzer at bay this time?”

“I don’t know, I think it’s more Marvin’s fault than anything.”

Cordelia laughed, and Charlotte’s smile grew. “So that’s his name. Marvin. He never really introduced himself.”

“He never really does.” Charlotte held her hand out, then, “I never really introduced myself, either. Charlotte DuBois.”

Cordelia took Charlotte’s hand in her own, gently shaking it. “Pleasure to meet you! I’m Cordelia Abrams.”

“The pleasure is mine, Cordelia.” 

The two girls just stared at each other for a moment, before Charlotte cleared her throat and spoke up again. “Would you, uh, like to hang out sometime? Like, outside of a football game?”

“I’d love to!”

And then, with some awkward shuffling, Charlotte produced a pen and a piece of paper and wrote her phone number on it, before passing it to Cordelia. Cordelia looked it over, before putting the paper into her own pocket. “You have pretty handwriting. You’ll make a good doctor.”

Charlotte actually laughed at that. “I wish it was that easy.” Then, she glanced over at the two that Cordelia had arrived with. “You might want to go ahead, before they leave you.”

Cordelia followed Charlotte’s gaze. Whizzer looked bored, but Mendel didn’t seem to mind. She turned back to the girl in front of her, smiling brightly. “Right. Thank you, and good luck tonight. You might need it,” she said, winking, before running back to catch up with her friends.

Charlotte smiled, watching the trio go up their side of the bleachers, before going to the ‘home’ side and finding a place with enough room for herself and also both Marvin and Trina. 

—

At the halfway point for the game, the teams were tied. Marvin and Whizzer, respectively, were fuming. Their personal hatred for each other seemed to make their enthusiasm for the game even harsher, both of them yelling and screaming at the players, at the referees, at anyone or anything on the field. 

“Charlotte, are you even paying attention?” Marvin grumbled. 

Charlotte was holding her phone, texting quickly during the times that the band wasn’t playing. “Mhm,” she murmured, her fingers flying over the keys, but when Marvin tried to look over her shoulder to see _what_ she was doing that was more important than this _game,_ she would always put her phone aside again. 

“Leave her alone, Marvin. Whatever she’s doing must be important,” Trina said, but that hardly wasn’t fair, because Charlotte would allow her to look over her shoulder. 

On the other side of the field, a similar thing was going on. 

Except, both Whizzer and Mendel were looking over Cordelia’s shoulders, and she was willingly allowing them. Whizzer was giving her great advice on what to say, in between yelling at the people on the field. He even yelled at the ball a few times, like it was the inanimate object’s fault. Mendel, on the other hand, was pointing out that half of the things Whizzer suggested were definitely _not_ to be repeated. 

“Tell her to meet you at your dorm room tonight. And add a winky face.”

“Delia, trust me, that isn't a good idea.”

Cordelia never put what Whizzer suggested, but it wasn't because of Mendel, and she had to mention that a few different times. She was writing what she wanted because she wanted to be herself to Charlotte, not someone that she, personally, was not. Whizzer still feigned being upset, though. 

Mendel was fiddling with his flute, anxiously watching the game, and Whizzer was yelling some unwritable words at a referee, when Cordelia finally spoke up excitedly. 

“We’re going on a date!”

Mendel’s “Already?” and Whizzer’s “What? Seriously?” came at the same time. 

Cordelia smiled sheepishly. “Well, okay, it's not a _date,_ date, Delia! A date, real date! My baby girl is growing up. I’m a proud father,” Whizzer drawled on, overdramatically. 

Cordelia laughed, lightly pushing Whizzer. “She didn’t call it a date.”

“That doesn't matter. It is a date, obviously, and you’ll have a girlfriend when you come back from it.”

—

Charlotte and Trina were bent over the phone together at this point, both of them smiling more than Marvin had ever seen them smile in the years that he's known them. They weren't even paying attention to the game anymore, just giggling and speaking in hushed whispers that Marvin couldn't understand. The only time they looked up was when the band had to play, and then it was right back down to the phone.

“What are you _doing?”_ Marvin grumbled at some point. 

Trina waved him off, not looking up from the phone. Then, she cheered quietly and nudged Charlotte, who was now smiling even more. Both girls looked up from the phone, then, and across the field. Marvin followed their gaze – but he didn’t spot Cordelia. Marvin’s eyes instantly landed on Whizzer. Were they _texting_ Whizzer? 

Marvin stuck his middle finger up. Whizzer happened to see the gesture, and stuck his tongue out right back in retaliation. Then, Whizzer swiped Cordelia’s phone and typed something, despite Cordelia’s desperate attempts to get it back.

Then, Charlotte spoke to him for seemingly the first time that afternoon. “Whizzer says to ‘shove that right up your behind,’ but with different word choice. Whatever he’s talking about.” And then they girls were back to paying attention to Charlotte’s phone.

Marvin glared at Whizzer, drawing a line across his throat with his index finger. Whizzer only smiled, shrugging, as if he didn’t know what Marvin’s gesture meant.


	5. his name is mendel

The game ended after a few hours of overtime, with ACC winning. Marvin was livid. And he was even more upset that Trina and Charlotte didn’t really seem to care. As they were leaving the stands, they just so happened to cross paths with _Whizzer._ And, Whizzer’s friends, but they didn’t matter much to Marvin.

“Your name is _Marvin,_ and you decided to make fun of _me?”_ was the first thing Whizzer said to him. “How old _are_ you? Forty?”

Marvin glared at him. He assumed that Charlotte had told them his name, because _he_ sure didn’t remember giving it. “Screw off. You won the game, what else are you going to do?”

Whizzer seemed surprised for a moment, as if he had expected some other reply. Then, he was grinning again. “I thought you were going to–” and then he mimicked Marvin’s action from before, dragging his finger across his neck. It was all Marvin could do to stop himself from just reaching up and strangling that snide grin straight off of his face.

Instead, Marvin let his stare search around for Charlotte and Trina, and was sort of disgusted when he saw them standing with Cordelia and… what was his name? The other guy, that seemed to be Whizzer’s friend but also seemed kind of tired of him at the same time. They seemed happy, and weren’t talking about the game.

—

“I’m Trina, by the way,” she said, extending a hand to him. 

Mendel’s heart was beating in his chest. He nodded his head, taking her hand to shake it and– _god,_ it was _soft._

“Weisenbendel. I mean– Mendel. Weisenbachfeld. That's my name,” he stammered out, instantly feeling his face heat up. 

Trina’s eyebrows rose, but she was giggling. “It’s nice to meet you, Mendel. I’m sorry about Marvin, by the way. He’s a handful.”

“Yeah,” Mendel agreed, except he didn't really know Marvin, so he probably shouldn't have agreed. So, he corrected himself, “No, yeah, I mean, Whizzer is, too. Probably more so than Marvin.”

She shrugged, sending a gaze back at the two in question. They almost seemed to be getting along, for a split second, before Marvin shoved a finger in Whizzer’s face, looking irritated. Her attention was turned back to Mendel seconds before Whizzer licked the finger that happened to be too close to his mouth. 

Mendel had to hold in a sigh at that. Whizzer was a good friend, he really was, but he was so _childish_ sometimes. It almost pained him. 

Trina was speaking again, “So, Charlotte and Cordelia sure are hitting it off, huh?”

“Yeah,” Mendel agreed again. At least it was in the right context, this time. “Are they– going on a date? Cordelia said something, Whizzer said it qualified for a date..”

“They might not be calling it a date, but I think it is.” Trina said, smiling at him. Her smile was beautiful. Breathtaking. 

The yelling between Whizzer and Marvin was loud enough, now, to pull _all_ of their attention. 

Trina heaved a sigh. “I’m going to go pull Marvin away before they try to kill each other again. Uh– I’ll tell Charlotte to give Cordelia my number, let her know it’s for you. We might want to keep in touch, because of them. And it's always nice to have another friend.” She smiled once again, walking backwards to where Marvin and Whizzer were. Then, playfully, she added on, “See you later, Weisenbendel.” 

Mendel smiled to himself, as she’d already turned away to leave. “See you, Trina.”

—

Charlotte had been on her phone for a full hour, texting Cordelia, prior to the study session on her and Trina’s dorm room floor. Marvin was over, too, but he wasn't really helping. He just sat and watched them look over notes and flashcards, papers and textbooks and writing utensils scattered around the trio. They were taking a break now, though, talking about both the details to Charlotte’s ‘not-a-date’ coffee date, and talking about the things that Trina and Mendel were now talking about. 

“He’s so _cute,”_ Trina stated, staring at the back of an index card absentmindedly. 

“He obviously doesn't have very many friends, since he hangs out with _Whizzer.”_

Charlotte butted in for Trina, pointing a pen at Marvin, “Hey, we didn't invite you over to insult our new friends. You don't even _know_ Mendel. Or Whizzer, for that matter. Whizzer could be a great guy and you wouldn't even know it.”

“I’m sure Whizzer’s a great guy,” Trina added. “He seems sweet. Happy. Mendel says that he's just hyper and energetic, like a puppy.”

“Marvin likes puppies,” Charlotte pointed out. 

“He’s not a _puppy,_ he's a _feral dog,”_ Marvin grumbled. 

“You’re just mad that we lost the game.”

Trina dropped her index card, crossing her arms over her chest. “You don't even _like_ sports, or band. You can't even play the trumpet.”

Marvin huffed, looking away, pretending to be reading a textbook. Little did he know, it was for Charlotte’s doctoral major, and both girls could easily tell that he was just trying not to meet her eyes. Marvin knew that Trina was right. He hated most sports. He only liked football because his school played it, and everyone in Pharaoh Tech was passionate about school. He only joined band because, in fifth grade, his parents begged him to, and he only _stuck_ with it for Trina, through middle school and high school, and to represent his school now in college. He couldn't play the trumpet. It was mostly him just faking his way through things, and it was truly amazing that he’d managed to get through fifth grade to his junior year of college with faking his trumpet skills. 

When he looked back up, the girls were on their phones again, both rapidly texting. Probably Cordelia and Mendel. 

Charlotte snickered after awhile, something that usually meant she was up to something mischevious. Trina looked over, and then she was grinning too. Marvin didn't like this. 

Then, he realized what happened. Marvin’s own phone pinged from his back pocket. And when he pulled it out, he could just picture _his_ voice saying it. 

_**‘What happened to planning to kill me? ;)’**_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hohohoh here we go
> 
> also i don't know why but weisenbendel is so funny to me and i think it's going to be a recurring nickname


	6. bffs

Marvin was left with _nothing_ to do. Charlotte was on her not-a-date date, and Trina was at the local library with Mendel. Apparently they had a few classes in common that they were going to study for, or something. Marvin didn't believe it, but it didn't matter, because even if they had literally none of the same classes, they were still at the library together and Marvin was still left bored and alone. 

He didn't have any other friends, because he hadn't felt that he'd need any more. Also, because a few others in their school were afraid of him because of his sensitive temper. 

Then his phone pinged. Marvin already knew who it was, but he was still hopeful that it would be someone else. 

****  
From: Whizzer  
To: Marvin   
hey hot stuff, you busy? 

Marvin glared at the message, actually not sure what to say. Technically, _no,_ he wasn't busy. But what was he supposed to do with _Whizzer?_

****  
From: Marvin  
To: Whizzer   
What do you want? 

The reply was almost instant, as if Whizzer lived on his phone. 

****  
From: Whizzer  
To: Marvin   
we can….  
talk it out  
no more fighting!  
we can just be best friends forever!   
<3 

God, this guy was almost as annoying over text as he was in real life. Then, Whizzer sent another text. An address, with the following message:

_meet me here, okay? twenty minutes. if you're not there, i’ll assume that you changed your mind and don't want to be my bff._

Marvin actually did _not_ want to be Whizzer’s “bff.” But it wasn't like he’d have anything better to do with his day. Charlotte and Trina would probably be gone for awhile, and Marvin felt he was slowly starting to go insane lying on his bed just staring at the ceiling. And his roommate moved out last year, so he had the dorm all to himself. 

With a sigh, Marvin pushed himself up and changed into what he saw as presentable clothes, slipped on his shoes, and went out to get his car to go to wherever Whizzer wanted to meet him. 

—

Whizzer sat on the front porch steps, tapping the toe to his boots on the sidewalk impatiently. He just wanted to go back to his dorm. He _probably_ should have found a better place for Marvin to show up, or at least given him a shorter time frame to get here. He turned back to look at the door to the house he was in front of. Still closed. Nobody looking out the open windows, either. 

Yeah, Whizzer had another hookup the night before. He’d even texted Marvin a few times from the guy’s bed, before things happened. (Marvin never responded to those. Whizzer hadn't expected him to.) And, yeah, he was kinda sorta possibly using Marvin to get away from the house before the guy – Whizzer couldn't even remember his name – woke up, because Whizzer had already broken his own rule of no staying overnight with hookups. 

He sighed, impatient, and checked the time on his phone. Marvin had exactly five more minutes to get here before–

A junky car pulled up in front of the house. Whizzer was only slightly surprised to see Marvin in the driver’s seat. 

Whizzer quickly jumped up from the porch step, getting into the passenger side of the car before Marvin had the chance to get out. 

“Hi best friend,” Whizzer greeted teasingly, smiling. 

Marvin only glared at him. “Why are you in my car?”

“We’re going to lunch. I figured, since our friends are going on dates, we could go on a platonic date.”

Whizzer made that up on the spot. Pretty good, he thought, but Marvin wasn't convinced. 

Marvin had that angry look on his face, the one that he wore the first time he and Whizzer crossed paths. Whizzer half expected Marvin to punch him in the face again. Instead, though, he spoke again. “Who said that I want to take _you_ to _lunch?”_

“Technically, nobody said that you _want_ to. I just said that we _are_ going to lunch,” Whizzer answered, unable to stop the sassy tone from slipping in. He was trying to keep it civil, he really was. That just wasn't in his nature. “I’ll pay.”

“We’re not going.” Marvin grumbled. 

Whizzer huffed. “Fine, okay, whatever. At least drive, please. Get out of this guy’s driveway.”

“This isn't your house?”

“No. I live with Mendel, in the–”

“Then _who’s_ house is it?”

“Uh– ...Justin’s.”

“You don't even know this guy’s _name.”_

“Yeah I do, I just told you, his name is Justin.”

“Why are you here?”

“In your car?”

“At _some guy’s house.”_

Whizzer grinned slyly, now, “He had his dick up my–”

_“Stop.”_ Marvin slammed his head down on the steering wheel. Whizzer was snickering. “Do you seriously just sleep with random guys that you don't know?”

“No,” Whizzer said, sounding offended. “I knew him.”

“You didn't know his name–”

“It was something bland, okay? I didn't like it, so I didn't remember it. Plus, I won't be seeing him anymore anyway, so, it doesn't matter.” 

Marvin stared at him, before huffing and shifting the car into drive. Whizzer was kind of surprised that he didn't get kicked out of the car. 

“Where are we–”

“Just shut up and enjoy the ride.”

So Whizzer did. He fell silent, watching Marvin for a moment before turning to look out the window and watch the scenery go by. Of course, he was kind of worried about _where_ Marvin was taking him. For all he knew, he could end up dropped off on the side of a busy highway. Probably not, but Whizzer’s worries were often irrational. 

The silence was awkward. He couldn't tell if Marvin was still mad or if it was just a type of resting bitch face. 

“Do you really just have sex with people and never speak to them again?” Marvin asked after a few minutes, drawing Whizzer’s attention. “Without even letting them know you’re leaving?”

Whizzer shrugged. “They know what they're getting into.” He sent his gaze right back out the window. “I tell them all the same thing; romantic relationships never worked out well for me. If I stay with them like _that_ for too long, I’m afraid that it’ll _turn_ romantic.”

Marvin scoffed. “How many _romantic_ relationships have you been in to make you come up with such a stupid idea?”

“Enough, thank you very much.”

Whizzer supposed that he’d sounded too snappy on that last answer, because Marvin’s sarcasm seemed to dissipate at least slightly with his next question. “What happened?”

“What, last night?”

“No. Obviously not. What happened that made you not want romantic relationships?”

Whizzer turned his attention to his fingernails, noticing that some of the polish was chipping away. He’d redo it later. “Why does it matter?”

Marvin didn’t answer. He just waited for a response from Whizzer. And, eventually, he got one. 

“They just never went well.” 

—

It turned out that they weren't going anywhere. Marvin just drove around and they talked. After the brief, only kind of civil conversation about Whizzer’s love life, they were back to arguing. They drove as argued for hours, before Marvin eventually got tired of Whizzer and dropped him off at the Applebaum Community College’s campus, and then he drove himself back to Pharaoh Tech.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally some actual bonding with these guys :0
> 
> this turned out to be longer than i planned but i'm okay with that!


	7. marvin has time to think

Whizzer immediately hounded both Mendel and Cordelia for details on their not-a-date dates. Mendel was awkward and blushy, and refused to give many details. He just said that it was nice, and that Trina was sweet and smart and beautiful and many other nice adjectives. Cordelia, on the other hand, was eager to give details. 

In fact, Mendel and Whizzer may as well have been watching the date. Cordelia didn't seem to miss a single detail – she even remembered the cashier's name and exactly what Charlotte ordered. To save the extra details here, though, the date went well and it ended with them agreeing that it was a date and agreeing to go on another date soon. 

“You have a girlfriend!” Whizzer cheered, jumping up from his bed and throwing his fists in the air. 

Mendel smiled, watching, and Cordelia laughed. 

“I do! I have a girlfriend!” Cordelia agreed. Whizzer grabbed her hands and pulled her up, hugging her in excitement. “Now _you_ need to get a boyfriend, so that we can go on double dates. Or – even better! – triple dates! With Mendel and Trina, too!”

“Trina and I aren't–”

“Not _yet,”_ Cordelia butted in, even more excited with how excited Whizzer was. “But soon enough, I _know_ you’ll get together!”

Mendel couldn't think of anything to reply with. 

—

Marvin, however, didn't get nearly as much information. He found out that Charlotte and Cordelia were officially a couple, and he assumed that Trina really likes Mendel, just judging by the way she talked about him. Instead, it was more of Trina and Charlotte teasing Marvin about how he probably had nothing to do all day. 

“I stayed busy,” Marvin answered, honestly. 

Charlotte had a disbelieving look on her face. It was Trina, though, that spoke up, “Oh, yeah? Doing what?”

He huffed. He didn't want to tell them about Whizzer. So, he fibbed it a bit. “Fought Whizzer again.”

“You _fought_ him again?” Charlotte groaned. 

“Yeah,” Marvin offered a shrug. “It was his idea, he told me where to meet him and everything.” 

Trina got up, then, and was examining Marvin’s face. “At least it doesn't look like it got as bad as last time.”

“Yeah, it was– a verbal fight.”

Then both girls were giving him the look that said they didn't believe him at all. “It's true!” He defended himself. 

He didn't think they believed him, but he didn't really care anymore. They weren't asking anything else, though, so there was at least that. 

—

Weeks passed, and everyone did their own type of thing. Charlotte and Cordelia hung out and went on dates, Mendel and Trina had still-not-a-date library dates, Whizzer hooked up with random men, and Marvin actually spent some time studying. Trina would quiz him sometimes to see if that's what he really was doing and, majority of the time, he actually knew how to correctly answer her questions. Whizzer hadn't texted Marvin since the last day they saw each other, and Marvin told himself that he didn't care enough to text Whizzer and see why. 

See, really, though, it hit Marvin as he sat alone at his dorm room desk. He did care. For some ungodly reason, Marvin did care. Whizzer was always so persistent about texting Marvin before, and he would text and text and text until he got a response. Now, Whizzer hadn't sent a single text Marvin’s way, and Marvin didn't really know how to feel. 

On one hand, Whizzer was a bit of a nuisance. He talked a lot, was sarcastic and cocky, was over the top and way too confident. It got on Marvin’s nerves. On the other hand, though, this persona almost seemed at least slightly fake. Like Whizzer was acting out to distract everyone from something else. 

And Whizzer’s words about relationships floated around Marvin’s head often. _He didn't have good luck with romantic relationships. They just didn't go well._ What did this mean? Was Whizzer just overdramatizing break ups? Was it a more personal, serious thing? He’d gotten snappy when Marvin asked him about it, which was kind of what raised red flags in his mind to begin with. 

Marvin wasn't willing to admit this to anyone, and barely could even admit it to himself, but these thoughts were beginning to take up all of his free time. Instead of studying, he’d sit there at his desk, staring at the same page in the textbook, while his mind only thought of Whizzer. 

What was Whizzer doing now? Was he still sleeping around? Was he studying for classes, too? Did he think about Marvin nearly as much as Marvin thought about him? 

On a Thursday night, Marvin was doing the same things as he always did. He just got home from his class about a half hour ago, and had sat down to study for it, but Whizzer had slipped into his thoughts just as quickly as he’d slipped into his life. The only difference was, an hour into this, Trina and Charlotte came in. 

“Marvin!” Trina greeted, rather cheerfully. Marvin was almost worried to find out what made her so cheerful, but he turned away from his unused notes and flashcards anyway. Trina sat herself down on an empty section of his desk. “So, Charlotte and I are going to a little mini-party type thing tonight. Will you come? Please? Being alone so much isn't good for you.”

So they actually did care. “Says the one who abandoned me in the first place.”

Trina flinched slightly at that. “Marv, I swear, it wasn't on purpose.”

“Marvin, please,” Charlotte came in then. “I know it was kind of a jerk move for us to make other friends and spend more time with them – but now we’re offering to take you to a little party/get together thing with us. It’ll be good for you, maybe _you_ could make some other friends to abandon _us.”_

That seemed to be all Marvin needed. Except it wasn't, really, he didn't actually listen to half of what Charlotte said. He just wanted to get out of his dorm for something other than classes again. 

They ended up in Trina’s car, Charlotte in the back seat, and Marvin in the passenger seat. Trina was, by far, the best driver out of the trio, though it was Charlotte with the best car. They were off. It only them occurred to Marvin that he had no clue where they were going, and he had no clue who would be there.


	8. the mini party

Trina pulled in at a small clubhouse type of building, checking her phone to make sure it was the right address, before turning and smiling at her passengers. “We’re here!”

Together, the trio got out of the car and headed up to the building. Before they even got to the door, it was opened. Marvin was only half surprised to see Mendel there. 

“Hi Trina,” Mendel greeted with a smile, then he waved at the other two. “Hi Charlotte, Marvin.” 

“Hey Mendel,” Charlotte grinned. 

Marvin watched as the girls entered the building. He could have sworn that he saw Trina kiss Mendel’s cheek, but he wasn't even going to worry about questioning it. He knew it’d happen eventually. 

He stopped Mendel in the doorway after entering. “Hey, who all is here?”

“Oh, just you guys, and me and Cordelia. Uh– Whizzer’s supposed to be here, too, but he said he’d be a little late.” Mendel answered, looking away when mentioning Whizzer, like he realized that it would be a bad idea. 

Marvin sighed and nodded, just walking off to inspect the inside of the building. He heard Mendel join the group of girls in the other room, all of them talking like they’ve been friends forever, not like they were in rival schools that should absolutely hate each other. 

He tried to pretend to busy himself with looking at the books on the bookshelf. Charlotte said that Marvin could make some friends. Yeah, right. She just wanted him to go. Which, he supposed, he didn't really mind. It meant she cared about him. She wanted him to still have social interaction. Those thoughts are what lead him to go ahead and join the circle. 

“Marvin!” Cordelia greeted, even getting up from her seat to hug him. “It’s good to see you! Char said she was going to invite you, but I was a little afraid that you weren't going to show up.”

Marvin couldn't help but to smile at that. “Yeah, I’m here. She convinced me.”

The lesbians shared a happy gaze. 

Without Marvin even realizing it, hours passed with their group just sitting there and _talking._ There was some general catching up, some extremely innocent gossiping, and then them trying to tell jokes but most of them turning out horrible. Marvin was actually having fun. Cordelia was sweet and funny, and she brought out a more daring side in Charlotte that Marvin had never seen. Mendel was horridly awkward, but once he got used to the situation, he could joke along (although _his_ jokes were all the bad ones). And Whizzer still hadn't stopped by. Nobody noticed, until Cordelia pointed it out. 

“Has anyone seen Whizzer tonight?”

Nobody had, except for Mendel. 

“He left the dorm early,” he said. “He said that he had to go run errands or something, then he’d be here.”

And not even five minutes after them questioning the absence, Whizzer came strutting into the building. Marvin was surprised to find that he wasn't filled with irritation the second he saw him. He wasn't going to say that, though. 

“You look like shit.” 

Whizzer smiled sarcastically, “Thanks, Marvin, really appreciate it.” 

He didn't really look that bad at all. He just looked kind of tired, and his hair was a bit of a mess. He seemed to know that, though, because his hands reached up to fix it as he plopped down between Cordelia and Mendel. 

Cordelia smiled at him, “What took you so long?”

“Traffic.”

“You don't drive,” Mendel threw out. 

Whizzer rolled his eyes. “Uber.”

Both Mendel and Cordelia nodded, then. Marvin didn't believe a _word_ that Whizzer said, except for maybe that fact that an Uber had brought him here. But it wasn't his place to question him. 

Or was it? They were supposed to hate each other. That was their whole dynamic. And Marvin didn't necessarily hate Whizzer anymore, but he couldn't just come out and _say_ that. 

“Where were you before?” Marvin questioned, arms crossed. 

“Grocery.” Whizzer answered, raising his eyebrows. 

“Where are your bags?”

“Dropped them off at the dorm.”

Mendel didn't say anything, but he had this odd look on his face. Like that they didn't even _need_ groceries. Marvin caught that. 

“What did you get?”

“Why does that matter to you?”

“What did you get, Whizzer?”

“Food, Marvin.”

Marvin stared at him. Whizzer stared back. 

“Were you sleeping with some guy again?”

Whizzer groaned loudly then got up, just walking out the back door. 

Trina huffed at Marvin, “Why did you do that?”

“He was _lying,_ Trina.” 

And then the topic was dropped. They ended back in a conversation, and Whizzer came back after a few minutes. He wouldn't look at Marvin, and seemed almost angry at first, until Cordelia started telling an old story about something funny she’d caught Mendel and Whizzer doing. Whizzer was explaining himself (“I swear, we had that many ducks for a _project.”_ ), but he still wasn't looking at Marvin. Marvin was beginning to believe that he’d messed up, really bad. 

Before they knew it, it was three in the morning, and they were all hanging out. None of them had classes until afternoon, so they decided that it would be fine to continue hanging out. They were having fun, why end it prematurely. Charlotte and Cordelia were cuddled up to each other now, and Trina was laying with her head in Mendel’s lap. Mendel was running his fingers through her hair carefully. All of them looked happy. Whizzer was laying on his back on the floor, snickering at some story that Charlotte was telling now, about her family. 

Marvin had kind of zoned out, there, just watching Whizzer, who still wouldn’t even talk to him. He hated this. Not Whizzer, but the lack of communication. Marvin excused himself to go stand outside, just saying that he needed some fresh air, that it was getting hot in there. 

He stood outside. It was kind of cold, really, but he didn't mind. He heard the door open and close behind him, and was surprised to see Whizzer standing there. 

“You’re an asshole,” Whizzer suddenly mumbled, his arms crossed in obvious attempts to keep himself warm. 

“What?”

“You just–” he stopped himself, sighing. He still wasn't looking at Marvin, staring at the ground. He sat down in one of the two fold out chairs. “Ugh.”

Marvin sat in the other one, after pulling it a little ways away from Whizzer. He didn't say anything, just staring out at the blackness in front of them. 

It was silent, except for the night bugs and birds making their noises. Then Whizzer spoke up again, “You were right. I was at another guy’s house.”

“I know,” Marvin nodded. 

He spared a glance at Whizzer, who was shivering in the cold. Marvin tossed him his own jacket. Whizzer looked surprised, staring at Marvin. 

“Put it on, dummy,” Marvin said, before looking away again. 

Whizzer actually smiled at him, then, and slipped the jacket on. It was slightly big on him, sleeves coming down just a little bit longer than they should have. He pulled his knees up to his chest in the chair, sinking down into the jacket. “I thought you hated me.”

Marvin lied, “I do.”

It was quiet again, before Whizzer just laughed. 

“What?”

“Thanks, enemy.”

Marvin rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Whatever.”


	9. hatred

Marvin and Whizzer had stayed outside for the rest of the night. There was little conversation, and whenever one of them did say something, the other would bite back with a sarcastic remark that it would turn it into an argument. Their last argument was broken up by Cordelia, who said that everyone was getting ready to leave. 

Whizzer didn't text Marvin that night either. Marvin, getting tired of that, decided to text Whizzer instead. 

**_To: Whizzer  
From: Marvin _** _  
When do I get my jacket back?_

Marvin didn't get a response. He went to bed wondering about Whizzer, and woke up still without a reply. 

—

Marvin was half asleep in the middle of his 1:30pm lecture, when Whizzer finally responded to his text. Thankfully, Marvin had remembered to turn off his ringer. 

_**To: Marvin  
From: Whizzer **  
today. when’s your last class over? i’ll meet you at the park. _

Marvin glanced up at the professor. Her back was to the class, while she spoke and wrote something on the board. He quickly typed out a response. 

_**To: Whizzer  
From: Marvin **  
Soon. When is your class over? _

He got a response right away. 

_**To: Marvin  
From: Whizzer **  
i’m not going today. didn't feel like it. i’m free whenever. _

_**To: Whizzer  
From: Marvin **  
Meet me there around 3. _

And Whizzer didn't reply that time. Marvin could only assume that he’d see Whizzer there. 

—

Marvin got out of the lecture a little after two o’clock. It was a short lecture, as always. That teacher was straight to the point and made sure to get everything done as quick as she possibly could. He got to the park at exactly half past two, and was surprised to see Whizzer already there. 

Whizzer was sitting there on a park bench, bouncing his leg as he rapidly typed on his phone. Marvin’s jacket was folded up at Whizzer’s side. He was dressed immaculately, as always, and had sunglasses on. 

Marvin walked up to him, standing in front of him. Whizzer looked up at him, over his sunglasses. Without a word, Whizzer handed Marvin his jacket, then went right back to typing on his phone. 

“What?” Whizzer asked after he finished typing, noticing that Marvin was still right there in the same spot. 

“Not even a hello?”

Whizzer rolled his eyes, but Marvin could barely see it behind the dark glasses. “Look, Marvin, I’m not here to be friendly with you, okay? You said it yesterday. You hate me. I hate you. We’re not friends.” His phone pinged, and Whizzer’s attention was immediately back on that. 

Marvin took the phone from Whizzer's hands. Whizzer’s head shot up, looking surprised, before he snatched the phone right back. 

Whizzer looked like he was about to lunge at Marvin to fight, and Marvin was surprisingly prepared. Which is why Whizzer’s actual next action caused Marvin to freeze up out of shock. 

Whizzer ‘lunged’ at him, sure, but… He was _hugging_ him. Marvin hesitated, before slowly, awkwardly, returning the gesture. He didn’t really know what else he was supposed to do. 

At that, Whizzer just seemed to crumble. He lost his carefully held composure. It might not have been much, but it was a lot to see coming from Whizzer – Whizzer, who was always overly confident, who was always ready to fight, who was surprisingly cheerful and energetic around people that weren’t Marvin, and who was cocky and sarcastic around Marvin himself. That same Whizzer was now clinging to Marvin, his body shaking, his breath hitching in his throat, clearly trying his hardest not to just burst into tears right there. Marvin started to say something, though he didn't know _what,_ when it was all over just as quickly as it began. 

Marvin stared, stunned, as Whizzer was suddenly back a few steps, standing upright. He had this odd look on his face, like he wanted to say something too, but was scared. Then, Whizzer turned to leave. 

“It was only you because I knew you were the only one who wouldn't ask me any questions.” 

Then, Marvin surprised himself. He reached out, before Whizzer could get too far, grabbing the other man’s wrist. 

Whizzer froze, but didn't turn back. 

“Well,” Marvin started dryly, “you were wrong.”

Whizzer sighed, pulling his wrist from Marvin, this time turning back around to face him. “Why do you care? Just because you know I don't want to talk about it?”

Marvin hesitated. Whizzer didn't look like the same, cocky, confident guy that he’d looked like when Marvin first approached him just a minute or two ago. Whizzer looked… tired. Run down. Almost depressed, but it was hard to believe someone like _Whizzer_ could be _depressed._

He looked like he could break any minute. Like if Marvin wasn't careful, Whizzer would just shatter. 

“What's going on?” Marvin asked, his tone surprisingly soft. 

Whizzer visibly flinched. “I already said I don't want to talk about it. Stop pushing it.”

“Something's wrong.”

“Yeah.”

And then it was silent. They just stared at each other, before Whizzer turned away. 

“God, I hate you,” Whizzer mumbled, voice miserable. There was something in his tone, though, that made it seem like he didn't mean it. Like it _hurt_ him to say it. 

“What?” Marvin questioned. 

“I _hate_ hating you.”

And Whizzer left before Marvin had a chance to ask what that was supposed to mean. 

—

Marvin couldn't stop thinking about that look on Whizzer’s face. The tone in his voice. It was way past midnight by now, but he didn't care. 

_**To: Whizzer  
From: Marvin **  
Come over.   
Dorm number A56. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hahaha this one was F U N to write
> 
> get ready y'all next chapter is a big one


	10. conversations

Marvin honestly didn't expect a knock on his door at four in the morning. Whizzer hadn't responded to his text. Marvin just thought he was either asleep, or busy, or avoiding him. Part of him wondered if it would be Trina or Charlotte at his door, but he couldn't imagine what they would be there for. Which lead to him being really surprised when he saw Whizzer standing at his door. 

“Whizzer?”

“Yeah, hi.” 

Still kind of stunned, Marvin moved out of the way and motioned Whizzer inside. 

It was awkwardly silent. Marvin invited Whizzer over, yes, but he hadn't actually expected Whizzer to come. And now that Whizzer was here, Marvin really didn't know what to say. 

“About earlier–” Marvin started. 

Whizzer looked over at him. “I'm sorry.”

Marvin stared. 

“I overreacted. And– god, this is going to sound _horrible.”_

Whizzer didn't say anything else. Marvin waited, before asking him to go on, “What?” 

Whizzer dropped himself on the empty bed that used to be Marvin’s roommate’s. “I don't hate you, Marvin, I really don't. And I don't want to do this stupid _pretending_ to hate you, so– If you hate me, that's fine, I get it. I’ll go and we’ll just never see each other again.”

“Is that what you _want_ to happen?”

“Is that what I–” Whizzer cut himself off, running his hands over his face. He seemed distressed. Whizzer laughed, but Marvin didn't really know what he was laughing at. “I don't _know._ I don't know what I want. I haven't known what I wanted for awhile.”

Marvin sat down next to Whizzer and patted his knee. Whizzer’s hands dropped from his face, and he turned to look at Marvin. 

“I don’t hate you either, Whizzer,” Marvin stated. He hoped this would do _something_ to help Whizzer relax. 

Whizzer froze, staring at Marvin. He had an unreadable expression on his face. Then, he nodded, a small smile finding its way to his features. “Ah. Thanks. That's nice.”

Marvin scoffed. “Sounds fake, but okay.”

“No, I really–” 

And then Marvin did something he hadn't even planned to do. He leaned in, pressing his lips against Whizzer’s, successfully cutting him off. 

And then Marvin pulled back and started to apologize, but Whizzer leaned in again, kissing Marvin a second time. 

—

“I thought you didn't stay with ‘hookups’ any longer than it took to finish the business,” Marvin said, a teasing tone in his voice. 

Whizzer was half-asleep already, his head rested against Marvin’s bare chest. He was warm, and it was comfortable. Marvin’s arm was wrapped around his shoulder, holding him close and slowly beginning to pull him even closer. “Mm. You’re different,” Whizzer murmured, his eyes closed. 

Marvin raised an eyebrow. “How am I different?”

Whizzer laughed sleepily. “I know that you won't force me to stay with you.”

Marvin didn't respond this time. He didn't want to say anything, in fear of accidentally admitting that Whizzer was wrong. 

And, _god,_ Whizzer was wrong. Marvin never thought he’d admit this, but he really did want Whizzer to stay. Marvin wanted to prove to Whizzer that whatever he’d been shown from past relationships, whatever made him not want to date anyone anymore, wasn't the case with everyone. Marvin wanted to spoil Whizzer to no end, he wanted to make Whizzer happy and _laugh_ with him instead of fight. But none of that mattered, because Whizzer didn't want to stay with him. 

Marvin started to say something, but Whizzer cut him off, speaking again. 

“Because you don't _need_ to force me. I want to.”

Then Marvin grinned, and flicked the back of Whizzer’s head. “Whatever, kid. Go to bed, you’re talking nonsense.”

—

Marvin woke up to a cold bed and sun shining in through the window. Whizzer wasn't there anymore. But, upon closer inspection, Marvin found that Whizzer was actually still _there,_ just in the bathroom, trying to fix his hair. He was wearing boxers and one of Marvin’s sweaters, that he must’ve deliberately looked for because Marvin kept that one in his closet. 

Marvin slipped on some sweatpants, before getting up and walking over, leaning against the doorframe to the bathroom. 

Whizzer must have seen him through the mirror, because he was smiling now. “Do you seriously not have any hair supplies?”

“Why? Who are you trying to impress?”

Whizzer turned around, then, grinning at Marvin. “Who do you think?”

Marvin grinned back. “Justin?”

“Oh my god,” he said, but he was laughing. 

“No,” Marvin finally answered, “I don't have any hair supplies. Just shampoo.”

“Ugh. We have to stop by my dorm. Do you have classes today?”

Marvin raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? Why?”

“Me too. Wanna skip?”

“Sure.”

“Sweet.”

—

They got dressed, then Whizzer dragged Marvin back to his own dorm room. Mendel was surprised, to say the least, when they came in together. 

Marvin was left in the room with Mendel while Whizzer went to change into clean clothes and fix his hair. 

“I guess you don't, uh, hate each other anymore,” Mendel murmured, awkwardly, looking up at Marvin from his desk chair. 

Marvin heard Whizzer snickering from the bathroom. The walls were paper thin in these dorms. He just nodded, “Yeah, guess not.”

Mendel nodded. “That's good. Trina said that she was going to force you two to be friends if you didn't stop arguing.”

“Sounds like something she’d say.”

And then Whizzer emerged. He was still wearing Marvin’s sweater, which was honestly kind of bland, but with a brightly colored button up shirt underneath. And, of course, skinny jeans and boots – it wouldn't be Whizzer without those two items. He looked amazing, as always. 

“Don't you have classes today?” Mendel asked Whizzer. “You have at least one, we have–”

“I’m skipping again,” Whizzer shrugged, smiling. “I can get notes and homework from other people, it’ll be fine.” 

Mendel sighed, but he didn't get anything else in before Whizzer took Marvin’s hand and led him out of the dorm room. 

“Alright, so what are we doing?” Marvin asked, curiously. 

Whizzer shrugged, smiling at him. _“Something._ A coffee date? A romantic walk through the park?”

“I thought you didn't do _romantic_ relationships anymore?”

“Mm.” Whizzer looked ahead of them for a moment, before offering another shrug. “You’re different.”

Marvin just nodded. “So then, what does this make us?”

It was quiet, Whizzer seemingly thinking, before a grin crossed his face. _“Gay.”_

And then they were both laughing in the middle of the hallway at Applebaum Community College’s dorm rooms.


	11. coffee and spider-man kisses

They ended up getting a cup of coffee at Starbucks, then going back to the park. Marvin tried to memorize Whizzer’s order, but there were so many different words thrown out that he got lost instantly. Marvin always just got black. 

“Only, like, a month ago, we fought here,” Whizzer pointed out as he took a drink of his caramel mocha double something with a number of pumps of whatever and maybe some pumpkin or mint or some other flavor. “Who knew we’d end up like this.”

“I’m pretty sure Charlotte had an idea,” Marvin half joked. She probably did call it, honestly. 

Whizzer laughed at that. “Cordelia, too, honestly.”

Marvin grinned at Whizzer. He loved hearing him laugh. “What a perfect match, then, huh?”

“Who?” Whizzer asked, though his attention was now aimed at a tree. “Us? Or the lesbians?”

Marvin snorted. 

Then, Whizzer was shoving his way-too-long-of-a-title drink at Marvin, and walking over to the tree. “Think I can climb this?”

“I think it's not a great idea–” but Whizzer was already attempting it. “If you fall, I’m not kissing your boo-boos.”

He could hear Whizzer's wonderful laugh from behind tree branches and bushy leaves. “Yes, you will.” 

Marvin stepped closer to the tree, right before Whizzer dangled himself upside down directly in front of Marvin. He was grinning mischievously. 

“Kiss me, Mary Jane.”

“God, you dork.” But Marvin leaned in to kiss him anyway. 

Then, when they pulled away, Marvin ran his fingers through Whizzer’s hair. It was surprisingly soft, especially for how much product he used it in. “Now get down, Peter Parker. You’re going to get hurt.” 

Whizzer flipped himself back up on the branch, then, with reckless abandon that just _screamed_ Whizzer, he stood up on that branch and jumped down, smiling brightly, as if that wasn't dangerous in the slightest. Marvin just shook his head, handing Whizzer his beverage back. 

They ended up sitting on a bench together, just watching passersby walk. Whizzer reached over for Marvin’s hand after awhile of them sitting in a comfortable silence, almost seeming nervous with how hesitant he was. Marvin didn't hesitate in the slightest bit to just grab hold of Whizzer’s hand and interlace their fingers. Whizzer wore a bright smile that just lit up his features, then. A smile that made Marvin’s heart swell. 

Things like this really made Marvin wonder what type of relationships Whizzer had been in before. Relationships that caused him to not want to date anyone anymore, relationships that caused him to be _hesitant_ about _holding hands_ with someone who loved and cared about him. Marvin wanted to ask him but – Whizzer just looked so happy right now. He could save it for another time. 

“Have you gossiped to anyone about this yet?” Marvin asked instead. 

Whizzer grinned, shaking his head. “I’ve been too busy with _this_ to do that. I mean, Mendel probably knows that _something_ is going on, but it's not like I told him anything. You were there.”

Marvin nodded, then thought for a moment. “Are you going to?”

“I don't know.” Whizzer scooted closer to Marvin. “At some point.”

“I feel like you’re really great at keeping secrets,” Marvin stated, letting go of Whizzer’s hand to wrap his arm around his shoulder, pulling him in even closer. 

Whizzer snickered. “Yeah, you could say that. Either that, or lying.”

“Oh, so you're a good liar, too?”

“And a good bullshitter. I once convinced Cordelia that both of my parents were astrophysicists.”

“What do your parents really do?” 

“Uh– well, they did different things. Changed jobs a lot. I don't know what they’re doing now.”

“You aren't in touch with them?”

“Not really. I haven't talked to them since I was seventeen. It's better that way. They aren't necessarily gay allies.”

Marvin understood, then. “Gotcha. Mine aren't, either. They aren't homophobic, but they aren't all that accepting. They don’t know about me.”

“I can tell you about Mendel’s parents, though. His mom is a doctor, and his dad is a therapist; he’s following after both of their footsteps by being a psychiatrist, he's learning about medicine _and_ how to talk to people about their problems. He's really good at that, by the way. Both of his parents are the most accepting parents that I’ve ever met.”

“You’ve met Mendel’s parents.”

Whizzer smiled. “Mhm. Cordelia and I always follow Mendel home during holiday, because I will _not_ go back home, and I’d look like a loser if I stayed on campus. Also Mendel’s parents love me.”

Marvin laughed. “Guess I look like a loser, then.”

“Wearing those clothes? Yeah. Wait, you meant staying on campus. Never mind. Except you really do look like a loser wearing that, I really hope you develop a better fashion sense soon.”

Marvin looked down at his clothes – just a school hoodie and jeans. “What?”

“Sorry, but those jeans are terrible. And neither your shoes nor your socks match your top.” Whizzer said, speaking on autopilot. “And your hair–”

“Whizzer.”

“When was the last time you brushed it? Or got it cut? I mean, it doesn't look _bad,_ but it could definitely look _better…”_

Marvin was laughing, now. “Whizzer.”

“Marvin.” Whizzer grinned. “You know what we need?”

“Oh no.”

“Shopping trip, c’mon, right now.”

And Marvin was pulled up from the bench and back to the dorms, to get his credit card and car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi i just really love whizzvin fluff
> 
> next chapter is going to be some more of that then i Promise chapter 13 will have the lesbians and the straights again, i swear to moses 
> 
> just deal with me i'm a sucker for whizzer & marvin bein cute


	12. shopping sprees!

Marvin has _never_ been shopping like _this._

First off, Whizzer _insisted_ on going into the mall. The only time that Marvin had shopped in the mall was when he wanted to get something for Trina, back in middle school, and he went to some jewelry store in the local mall and got her a necklace. Second, there were no low budget stores in this mall. Despite Marvin having more than plenty of money, thanks to his parents having well paying jobs and sending him lots of money almost every holiday since he never came home, Marvin never spent all that much. He didn't have any _needs_ to spend it on. But it looked like he was going to blow a nice portion of it here, today. 

Whizzer kept picking things off of shelves and holding them up to Marvin, staring at them, then either shaking his head and putting it back, or smiling and adding it to the steadily increasing pile of clothes draped over his arm. 

“Oh, Marv, _god,_ look at _this,”_ Whizzer exclaimed softly, suddenly rushing Marvin half across the store. 

Even if Marvin didn't like shopping, he had to admit that he did enjoy shopping with Whizzer. Not the shopping part, but being there to watch Whizzer. The facial expressions that he made as he tried to figure out if a shirt was really as great as he thought it was, the big smiles that he got when he found something that he seemed excellent, how excited he got over what seemed to be simple items of clothing. 

Whizzer was smiling almost mischievously now, after draping the new shirt over his arm. 

“What?” Marvin asked, glancing around before up at Whizzer. 

“Fashion show time,” he pointed at a back area of the store – dressing rooms. Oh god, Marvin hated those. “Please?” Whizzer asked, seemingly noticing the look on Marvin’s face. “It’ll be quick, quicker than you think, promise. And it means that we might not have to get _all_ of this, because actually trying them on is the way to know what really looks good and–”

Marvin rolled his eyes, chuckling, “Alright, Whizzer. We’ll do it.”

“Yes!” 

What was Marvin getting himself into? 

They got back to the dressing rooms, and Whizzer flopped all of the clothes onto a bench. He sorted through them, making an outfit before handing it to Marvin and ushering him into a room. Marvin could hear that Whizzer was already set to work on creating other outfits out of the rest of the clothes, probably to help speed up the process. 

This went on for awhile, Marvin changing, coming out to show Whizzer. Now, most of his responses were “no” or “looks forced,” so they ended up not getting nearly as much as Whizzer had picked out. Still, by the time they left the mall, Marvin had a few new outfits that Whizzer insisted were fantastic. 

“Okay, so, explain to me this,” Marvin was teasing Whizzer, as he started to pull out of the mall parking lot. “He come _you_ can wear my _‘horrid’_ clothes and make them look good?”

Whizzer snickered. “Because I know how to style them. I know what not to wear them with. I know what colors compliment each other, and I know which ones clash. Need I say more?”

“No. That's fine.”

Whizzer was laughing now. Marvin just grinned, reaching over with one hand to hold Whizzer's, the other hand holding onto the wheel so he could drive. Whizzer watched him for a moment, before leaning in to kiss Marvin’s cheek. 

They ended up just going back to Whizzer’s dorm after that. Mendel would be in classes, Whizzer had said, and the only visitor that they might get is Cordelia. “She’s probably mad that I wasn’t there for American Lit. We just sit in the back and watch vine compilations together all class,” Whizzer explained, as they entered the room. Marvin scoffed.

And Whizzer’s presumptions turned out to be correct, about a half hour later. The two of them had just been sitting in Whizzer’s bed, watching some show on Whizzer’s laptop. Cordelia opened the door, her mouth already open t say something, but she halted when she noticed Marvin there.

“Don’t worry,” Whizzer said. “We’re clothed.”

Then Cordelia broke into a smile. “I should have _known._ Charlotte said she thought you’d get together eventually.” She paused, pointing at Whizzer. “Is that Marvin’s sweater? You’ve already upgraded to wearing each others’ clothes?”

Marvin shrugged. “Is that Charlotte’s cardigan?”

Cordelia giggled, holding up the soft purple cardigan. “Yeah. It was cold, and I forgot my jacket. Anyway! You know what this all means?”

There was silence. Marvin didn’t know what Cordelia was referring to, and so he also did not know what it meant.

Both of the others did, though, and at the same time they said it.

“Triple dates!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one was kind of short but 13 & 14 are going to be longer and sO MUCH FUN


	13. mendel is nervous / applebaum trio

Whizzer has seen Mendel nervous before. Of _course_ he has. It seemed like Mendel’s main emotion _was_ nervous. But the poor guy wouldn’t get out of bed. At first, Whizzer thought it was just because he didn’t have classes today, so he was just sleeping in. Then, it was past noon, and Mendel still hadn’t moved. Hadn’t moved, hadn’t spoke – it was almost like he was dead. That was when Whizzer finally decided to investigate, kneeled beside Mendel’s bed.

“Hey, buddy, you okay?”

And that was all it took.

Mendel flew upright to a sitting position, his already curly and frizzy mess of hair being even worse due to being in bed all day. _“No!_ I– Trina– We’ve never been on a real _date_ before! I mean– The library, yeah, but that’s– _Why_ are you _laughing?”_

Whizzer couldn’t help himself. Mendel, the one who was supposed to be becoming a psychiatrist, was having a midlife crisis in his senior year of college. Something about it was hilarious. And now that Mendel had caught him, it just seemed to be funnier.

_“Whizzer,”_ Mendel whined, pulling his blankets back up over his head as he sat there, watching the other in question lay on his back on the floor, nearly laughing enough that he was crying. Mendel didn’t even find it half that funny.

Mendel had never truly dated. He never had those silly kindergarten girlfriends, and he never dated throughout middle or high school – mainly because he was unable to walk up to those who he found interesting and introduce himself. (He’d tried once in eighth grade, but he messed up so bad that he wouldn’t talk to anyone for the rest of the year.) Something that was hardly ever brought up, though, was the two and a half months that he’d dated Whizzer. It wasn’t _horrible,_ but they just weren’t compatible in that way. Only Cordelia knew about that, and the three of them had just mutually agreed to never mention it again, except Whizzer brought it up as a joke every now and then. But other than that, Mendel had never dated. And now he was going on a _triple_ date, at six o’clock, in – he glanced at the clock on the wall – exactly five and a half hours. And Whizzer was _still_ laughing at how nervous Mendel was.

“What am I even supposed to wear?” He whined miserably, knowing that Whizzer probably wasn’t even listening to him anyway. He was sure that Cordelia would be by later, he could ask her for help. She’d probably help him, with minimal laughing.

“Sorry, Mendel, it’s just–” Whizzer started, before wheezing and bursting into laughter again.

Mendel groaned and reached out for his phone, which was sat on their side table. It hadn’t moved from there since Mendel had gone to bed the night before. He immediately just pulled up Cordelia’s contact.

“Mendel!” Cordelia greeted. “Good morning – or, afternoon! How are– what is Whizzer laughing at?”

_“Me.”_

“Oh. See you in a sec, okay?” And she hung up.

The girls’ dorms were right next to the boys’, so it took Cordelia a total of five minutes to show up at their door. And she had a key to it, too, so she was always able to get in. Whizzer had just stopped laughing by the time Cordelia got there.

“Did you call _Cordelia_ on me?” Whizzer pouted at Mendel.

Mendel pouted back, but not purposefully. “She isn’t going to make fun of me.”

All of them knew that Mendel’s statement might not be _completely_ true. Cordelia was just better at hiding it than Whizzer was.

She just nodded. “Mendel? Have you still not gotten out of bed? What’s wrong?”

“He’s–” Whizzer started, chuckling again. “He’s nervous about the date. Doesn’t know what to wear.”

“That’s not funny,” Cordelia stated, but she was smiling. She lightly flicked Whizzer’s head, before going over to Mendel’s closet and looking through his stuff.

Mendel relaxed some, going as far as to even remove the blanket from his head. Whizzer snickered at the state of his poor hair now. The boys just watched Cordelia shift through clothes, before she started giggling.

_“What?”_ Mendel sighed, dragging out the _‘a.’_

Cordelia pulled out a black sweater, with the words ‘bi bi bi’ written in fancy font, in pink, purple, and blue. “Wear this.”

Whizzer burst into laughter again. They had all got matching shirts at their first pride parade during sophomore year, only Whizzer’s was the gay flag and Cordelia’s was the lesbian flag, both with different, silly sayings. Ever since then, they’d been collecting pride shirts, and they all wore them fairly openly, Whizzer a lot more than the other two.

Cordelia tossed the shirt at Mendel, then continued looking. She found another one that said _I’m bisexual so I’m nervous around everyone._ “I think this one fits the occasion.”

Whizzer clapped. _“Please,_ Mendel. Please wear this shirt.”

Mendel finally got out of bed, nearly tripping over his blanket, to take the shirt from Cordelia. Then he reached in and took out the other four or five pride shirts and tossed them on his bed. “I can’t wear these on a date.”

“We should go on a date to a pride parade.” Whizzer stated.

“Trina wouldn’t like that,” Mendel responded, giving Whizzer a look. “She doesn’t like crowds. Pride events are very crowded.”

Whizzer shrugged, “We could go without her.”

Cordelia turned away from Mendel’s closet, then. “There aren’t any pride parades around here anytime soon. Whizzer, help me pick his outfit, please. Then come back to my dorm with me and help me pick out mine.”

Mendel half expected Whizzer to point at one of the many pride shirts that were sadly laid out all over his bed. Instead, though, Whizzer got up from the floor and joined Cordelia at the closet, going through his stuff.

“Why do you own so many sweaters? Do you wear anything other than sweaters?”

Cordelia grinned. “Pride t-shirts.”

Mendel sighed.

Whizzer was snickering again. He pulled out a few different sweaters and handed them to Cordelia. “Hold onto those for a second.”

Cordelia held the sweaters, looking through them. She moved some of them to her other hand, perhaps they were some that she preferred over the others. Whizzer was looking through pants now.

Mendel watched them pair certain things together, put some things away, pull out more items – it was stressful to watch. He was so glad that he had fashionable friends like them, though. If it weren't for them, he probably just wouldn't have gotten out of bed at all.

Whizzer eventually shoved an outfit at Mendel. “There you go! Go put that on, I’m going to go with Cordelia to help her pick out an outfit.” He paused, then pointed at three of his own shirts that were laid out on his bed. “Pick one of those for me, okay? I can’t choose.”

And then Mendel was left alone in the room.

He sent a glance at the clock – there were only four and a half hours left, now. Mendel took a breath and went to get dressed.

—

“See, I have these three outfits already picked,” Cordelia was saying. “And I tried to ask my roommate, but she refused to help me because she didn't know which one was the best for a lesbian.”

 

Whizzer burst out laughing. “Oh, god, I guess I can't help you either. Sorry, Delia. I’m not a lesbian, I can't tell you what you look the best in.”

And then Cordelia was laughing, too.

Cordelia’s roommate was alright. Rarely there, but alright when she was. Whizzer had met her plenty of times, and he had a feeling that she was only nice to him because she wanted a gay best friend. Mendel met her twice, but she was mean to him each time.

Thankfully, she wasn't still there when they got back. It didn't take too long for Whizzer to pick Cordelia’s outfit, he waited for her to get dressed, and then he helped her fix her hair.

__—_ _

Mendel couldn't believe that Whizzer had left him to pick what he’d wear. He’d spent ten minutes just staring at the shirts and they all looked the same. The only real difference was color. There was a green one, a red one, and a blue one.

And– god, Mendel didn't know what color was Whizzer’s favorite. He changed that every week. And Whizzer could pull off any color, so it wasn't even a matter of which color he looked best in. It’s not like anything bad would happen if Whizzer didn't like the one he picked.

Stressful. Dates were stressful. And… Nerve wracking, and scary, and worrisome, and anxiety inducing. Mendel sighed, sitting down at his desk. He checked his phone, and his heart nearly lept when he saw a text from Trina.

**To: Mendel**  
**From: Trina**   
_Watching Marvin try to figure out what to wear is hilarious, I wish you could be here to see it. He and Charlotte are arguing over which shade of red matches best with his pants, and about what Whizzer would say._

__

That actually helped Mendel out a ton. Whizzer wouldn't want to match with anyone like that, so that meant not the red shirt.

**To: Trina**  
**From: Mendel**   
_Whizzer made me choose his shirt for him. He’s so picky, I’m sure he's not going to like it no matter what I do._

__

Now why could Mendel function like a normal human over text? He didn't know. He wished he did. He sighed, putting his phone back down and going back over to the shirts. So, not the red one. If Whizzer wore the green one, he and Marvin would look like a stoplight. So, Mendel chose the blue one. It was suddenly just that easy.

__

Whizzer and Cordelia entered the room just then. Whizzer smiled when he saw Mendel holding up the blue shirt.

__

“I was actually thinking about going with that one, anyway,” he stated. “So you either read my mind or you have better fashion sense than you think you do.”

__

Little did Whizzer know, Mendel had just accidentally been given a lot of help from Trina.

__


	14. please don't make it pink / pharaoh tech-ers

Charlotte and Trina were definitely much better at choosing clothes for a date than Marvin was. Marvin was tempted to just text Whizzer and ask what he was supposed to wear, but Trina had stopped him.

“You can’t do that,” she said, “because then he’ll know what you’re wearing. You’re supposed to _surprise_ him.”

“So Mendel has no clue what you’re wearing?”

“Nope.”

The two of them were in Marvin’s dorm. Trina was already wearing what she had picked out, and was just fixing her hair in the mirror in the bathroom. Charlotte was back in their shared dorm, getting ready herself. They still had a few hours before they needed to be ready, but as Marvin would say, they were overachievers. They were _girls,_ they had to look _perfect._

Except, really, Marvin knew that it wasn’t just a girl thing. He was willing to bet all of his money that Whizzer was going to spend multiple hours on his hair. Marvin could only imagine Whizzer’s reaction when he’d end up _losing_ his hair. God, that would be a time. He chuckled softly to himself and shook his head, then went back to searching his closet.

“Wear something red,” Trina stated. “Or a shade like it. Orange, pink–”

“I am _not_ wearing pink. Please don’t make me wear pink.”

“Pink is a good color, Marvin,” Trina huffed, lowering her curling iron to turn and look at him.

Marvin still had his nose in the closet. “It really isn’t.”

“Red, then.” She turned back to the mirror. “Though pink would look good on you.”

“I think Whizzer is the only guy who could pull off pink.”

Trina didn’t respond. 

Marvin had _plenty_ of red shirts. He pulled out seven different ones, each shade a different kind of red. Light, dark, bright – but none of them were pink, thankfully for Marvin himself.

He stared at all of them, unsure which one to pick. Did it matter? Oh, who was he kidding, of _course_ it mattered. This was _Whizzer_ that Marvin was trying to impress. If he did something as small as accidentally wearing the wrong shade of red, Whizzer would never let him live it down. Marvin picked up one of the shirts, looking it over, right as Charlotte entered the room.

She looked wonderful. And so did Trina. And then there was Marvin himself not even finished getting ready.

“God, Marvin, are you going to wear that shade of red with those pants?” Charlotte spoke, in form of a greeting.

Marvin glanced at the shirt, then down at his pants. “Yeah, I was thinking about it.”

Charlotte shook her head, quietly tsking at him. “You do realize that you’re dressing to impress _Whizzer,_ right? The most fashionable person that any of us know? The guy who could go on Project Runway in his version of street clothes and win the competition?”

Now she was being dramatic.

_“Yes,_ I _know.”_

“And you’re still planning to wear that shirt?”

Marvin really didn’t see a problem. The shirt looked fine, and his pants looked fine. “What’s wrong with it?”

“That shade doesn’t go well with the pants.”

“Alright, what do _you_ suggest I wear?”

 

Trina sighed, listening to the two of them argue from her spot in the bathroom. She was finished, now, but she didn’t want to leave the room just because she didn’t want to watch them argue. Instead, she just closed the door to the bathroom then sat on the edge of the bathtub, pulling out her phone. She told Mendel about how they were arguing over Marvin’s clothes choice, and smiled when she saw Mendel’s response.

**To: Mendel**  
From: Trina   
_I’m sure you picked out something wonderful. Don’t be upset if Whizzer turns it down. I don’t even know him that well and I’m well aware of how picky he is._

She put down her phone, standing up again and looking into the mirror, adjusting her hair once again. She knew that Mendel wasn’t picky. He said that she looked perfect in a picture that Charlotte had, when her hair was a mess and she was in pajamas. Mendel was just – so sweet. So _so_ sweet. And Trina felt lucky to have him, especially after feeling like she’s be alone for the rest of her life when she and Marvin split up. 

Her phone vibrated from the edge of the sink.

**To: Trina**  
From: Mendel   
_At least Charlotte isn’t trying to get Marvin to wear an N’Sync pride shirt._

**To: Mendel**  
From: Trina   
_Whizzer tried to make you wear an N’Sync pride shirt?  
Better yet, you own an N’Sync pride shirt? _

Trina was grinning. She could picture it now. Mendel was such a dork – and she was so in love. 

**To: Trina**  
From: Mendel   
_Yeah… I got it at my first parade, when I went with Cordelia and Whizzer. That was an interesting time._

She couldn’t even imagine. Trina has never been to a pride parade, even though her two closest friends were both gay and have been to a few. They were so crowded and loud, judging by what she's seen online, and the fact that both Charlotte and Marvin always came back with lost voices. It wasn't Trina’s idea of a fun time, though she did completely support anyone and everyone who went. 

“Trina!” 

Trina looked up from her phone as she heard Charlotte’s voice, “Yeah?”

“Are you ready? I finally got Marvin into a complementary shade of red. We’re ready when you are.”

She could hear Marvin’s dissatisfied sigh. She stood up, texting a quick ‘see you soon!’ to Mendel, before leaving the bathroom. 

Both Charlotte and Marvin looked nice. Charlotte _did_ put Marvin in a nice shade of red. 

“Ready,” Trina smiled. “Let's go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it took me 7 years to update!!


	15. the date

The restaurant was surprisingly empty. There were a few families scattered around, but, for the most part, it just seemed to be their little group of six. None of them minded that, of course. 

It was kind of awkward, at first. The circular table was nice in the way that it let everyone sit next to their significant other, but it was kind of odd the pairs that were right across from each other. And it was silent, at first. Nobody wanted to be the first one to speak. Eventually, Cordelia and Whizzer shared a look, that everyone else caught. It didn't necessarily mean anything to the others like it meant to the two of them, who conveniently got placed at each others’ side. 

“Well,” Whizzer started, at the same time that Cordelia had clapped her hands. “We can't just sit here in silence all night. Let's play an icebreaker game.”

Trina noticed the look on Mendel’s face, the one that he was pointedly shooting at his two friends, the one that both of them were ignoring. The one that was begging them to find some other way to get other people talking. 

“Go around the table and say one thing that most people don't know about you!” Cordelia offered.

“I’ll go first,” Whizzer said, grinning. “The last official date that I’ve been on was with Mendel, in the middle of, like, freshman year. It was awful. Delia, your turn!”

Cordelia was giggling. Mendel looked like he wanted to stab his straw through his eye, but he said nothing. 

“Wait, hold on–” Charlotte spoke. Clearly, their game had worked to start conversations. “You two dated?”

“Only for two months–” Mendel tried. 

“Two and a half.”

Mendel ignored Whizzer, but it sent Cordelia into another fit of giggles. “– and it wasn't anything _serious._ Like, both of us knew it wouldn't work out, it really didn't work at _all.”_

Trina was giggling now, too, and Mendel didn't know whether to see this as an accomplishment or as a failure. 

“If you knew it wouldn't work, then why’d you do it?” Marvin questioned. 

Whizzer cheerfully answered that one. “I was gay and desperate.”

Now all of the girls were laughing. Once things calmed down, Cordelia did take her turn. And they went around the table, Charlotte after Cordelia, then Trina, and then it was Mendel’s turn. 

“Mendel has a bunch of saucy secrets,” Whizzer said, mostly just to illicit a reaction from Mendel.

“I do _not,”_ Mendel insisted, taking Whizzer’s bait. He huffed, pouting down at his glass of water. “I don’t have anything to say.”

“What about your coming out story?”

Cordelia burst into laughter.

If the others hadn’t been curious before, they definitely were now. 

“Oh, god,” Mendel grumbled, running his hands over his face. “Whizzer–”

Whizzer was grinning. “I’ll tell it for you, if you’d like.”

_“No.”_

Trina spoke up, to both Mendel and Whizzer’s surprise. _“Someone_ tell it. I want to know, now.” She was smiling.

“Mendel tells it the best,” Cordelia said, still giggling. “C’mon, _please_ Mend.”

“I won’t see you any different,” Trina promised, taking Mendel’s hand.

“Okay, okay,” Mendel sighed. Everyone at the table was interested.

–

“And that’s how I avoided coming out to my parents for four more years.” Mendel finally finished. “Although I guess I should have just come out to them, because it turns out that they’re really supportive, and now they make fun of me _because_ of that.”

“I still can’t believe they _believed_ that your computer was _hacked.”_ Charlotte said. She was the only girl not laughing hard enough to be able to reply. 

The story got everyone laughing, though. Even Marvin, who didn’t necessarily seem to like Mendel all that much. By the time that Mendel had finished, pausing every now and then when the waiter came back around with their food or to give refills, they all had finished their food and were ready to leave.

It was definitely an interesting first triple date, for everyone involved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow i’m sorry this was short i’m having some writers block and i literally could not figure out what to add,, i’m hoping the next chapter will turn out better!


	16. another game / the end

After their date, things seemed to get busy again. Classes, tests, and so on. They all still communicated, just through texts and more infrequently. Whizzer just wanted to skip more classes, to see Marvin, but he couldn’t risk his grades. They weren’t great as it was – not horrible, either, but he definitely didn’t want them to go down. The others were in similar situations, really, though Trina, Charlotte, and Mendel definitely had better grades than him. Getting lower than a B on something would kill Charlotte. Mendel and Trina were As and Bs average. Whizzer still considered D a passing grade, and figured that if he was getting at least a C, he shouldn’t worry too much. Then, finally came another opportunity to see each other after what felt like years but was more like a month. The last football game of the season, and Applebaum Community College was facing Pharoah Tech. All six of them were elated. 

They met up at the stands early, before the game, just to finally hang out in person. They all sat together under some of the bleachers, knowing that they wouldn’t get caught there – or, if someone would have caught them, they wouldn’t have got in trouble.

“Can you believe that it’s almost holiday season already?” Cordelia brought up, as they all sat together. 

It had already started getting cold, even though it was only the beginning of mid-December. They had all brought out warm winter jackets – except for Whizzer, who stubbornly held on to the end of fall.

“Crazy,” Trina agreed. “It feels like it was just August.”

“I wish it was still August,” Whizzer huffed, holding his lightweight jacket around himself. 

Marvin didn’t hesitate to drape his own jacket around his lover, but he still scolded him. “Well, it isn’t, and you should be wearing a jacket.”

Cordelia and Charlotte were cuddled together, Charlotte was smart enough to bring along a blanket and they were sharing it. “I told him to wear one,” Cordelia insisted. “Mendel told him, too, but he won’t listen.”

“Winter does not start until December 21st, thank you very much,” Whizzer stated. “I will not switch to my winter wardrobe until the 21st.” 

Nobody bothered to point out that there was only a week or so until then. Instead, Marvin dedicated himself to keeping Whizzer warm, and the others just silently rolled their eyes.

–

The game started quickly, and it was intense from beginning to end. From across the field, three specific members of the Applebaum Community College’s pep band were making silly faces at three other members of Pharaoh Tech’s pep band. And they did that at every time that they could, in between listening to the band director and playing pep music. None of them really paid that much attention to the game, because all of their attention was on each other. They met up again after the game ended. 

“Who won?” Whizzer asked, as their groups came together.

“No clue,” Trina answered.

“I think you guys did,” Charlotte said, but nobody bothered to turn around and look back at the scoreboards.

They all ended up in a booth together at the nearby Starbucks, none of them wanting to leave each others’ sides. They talked amongst each other, catching up with their lives and how they’ve been doing, which classes they were doing well in and which classes they weren’t doing as great, sharing study tips for exams that were coming up, and just telling fun stories and having fun together and laughing. 

As the day grew later and later, they were forced to part once again and head back to their own dorms.

–

Holidays went by quick. Mendel and Trina returned to their respective homes, and texted each other every day. Charlotte brought Cordelia back to her family; the DuBois’ loved her instantly and were happy to accept her into their family. Whizzer stayed on campus, much to everyone’s surprise. He snuck himself into the Pharaoh Tech’s dorms and found his way to Marvin’s room. He stayed there for the entire few weeks that they were off.

Once everyone was back from break, they made specific times in their schedules to hang out as their large group, and other times to hang out separately. They had gotten to the point where they managed to hang out at least once a week, sometimes even more than that. They even grouped together in libraries for what they called ‘study sessions’ but was more like Charlotte, Mendel and Trina trying to study while the others goofed off until they managed to get the other three off task as well. 

Graduation came up sooner than they all had expected. Test weeks were the only times that they cut back on hanging out, just because they all wanted to pass. And they did. Mendel, Trina and Charlotte passed with all As. The others got no lower than a B-. 

No more college pep band now, of course, but now there was plenty of time for them to grow as people, as couples, and as friends. 

Whizzer’s cheers were the loudest as they finally left their dorm rooms for good, together moving on to their new, official adult lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and it’s over that’s the end!
> 
> i’m kind of sad that it’s over now :( but! i’m starting a new multi-chartered fic, chapter one and possibly two will be up today, if you want to check those out-!
> 
> i hope you liked it, i had sO much fun writing it! i might do like a sequel or something later on, if anyone actually would want it :0


	17. (not part of the fic) update!!!

hi everyone!!!! i think i’m going to rewrite this – i had so much fun writing this when i first did, and i’ve recently gone back through and reread it and i really miss it!! i’d like to rewrite it with a bit more attention to detail & with more information, and perhaps longer/more chapters! and of course better characterization, because i really don’t feel like i did very well with that in the original lmao 

so yeah! if you’re interested, feel free to let me know anything you’d like to see in the new edition!


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